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5 <title>CUPS Command File Format
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11 CUPS command file format specification for CUPS.
13 Copyright © 2020-2024 by OpenPrinting.
14 Copyright © 2007-2018 by Apple Inc.
15 Copyright © 1997-2006 by Easy Software Products.
17 Licensed under Apache License v2.0. See the file "LICENSE" for more
21 <H1 CLASS=
"title">CUPS Command File Format
</H1>
23 <h2 class='title'
><a name='INTRODUCTION'
>Introduction
</a></h2>
25 <p>This specification describes the CUPS command file format
26 (application/vnd.cups-command) which is used to send printer
27 maintenance commands to a printer in a device-independent way.
28 The current specification supports basic maintenance functions
29 such as head cleaning and self-test pages and query functions
30 such as auto-configure, report supply levels, and report status.
</p>
32 <p>Printer drivers advertise support for the CUPS command file
33 format by providing a filter for the
34 <var>application/vnd.cups-command
</var> file type. Applications
35 can determine if a printer supports printing of CUPS command
36 files by checking the
<code>printer-type
</code> attribute for the
37 <code>CUPS_PRINTER_COMMANDS
</code> capability bit.
</p>
39 <p>In addition, the PPD file for a printer can contain a
40 <code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword that provides a list of supported
41 commands separated by spaces, for example:
</p>
44 *cupsCommands:
"AutoConfigure Clean PrintSelfTestPage ReportLevels ReportStatus"
47 <p>If no
<code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword is provided, the command filter
48 must support
<a href='#AutoConfigure'
><code>AutoConfigure
</code></a>,
49 <a href='#Clean'
><code>Clean
</code></a>,
50 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>,
51 and
<a href='#ReportLevels'
><code>ReportLevels
</code></a>. The scheduler also
52 provides the
<code>printer-commands
</code> attribute containing the list of
53 supported commands.
</p>
56 <h2 class='title'
><a name='SYNTAX'
>File Syntax
</a></h2>
58 <p>CUPS command files are ASCII text files. The first line of a
59 CUPS command file MUST contain:
</p>
65 <p>After that, each line is either a command or a comment.
66 Comments begin with the # character, e.g.:
</p>
72 <p>Commands are any sequence of letters, numbers, and punctuation characters
73 optionally followed by parameters separated by whitespace, e.g.:
</p>
80 <p>Command names are case-insensitive, so
"PRINTSELFTESTPAGE",
81 "printselftestpage", and
"PrintSelfTestPage" are equivalent. Vendor-specific
82 commands should use a domain name prefix, e.g.:
</p>
86 com.vendor.bar param param2 ... paramN
90 <h2 class='title'
><a name='COMMANDS'
>Standard Commands
</a></h2>
92 <p>The following are the standard commands supported by the format. The only
94 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>.
</p>
97 <h3><a name='AutoConfigure'
>AutoConfigure
</a></h3>
99 <p class='summary'
>AutoConfigure
</p>
101 <p>The
<code>AutoConfigure
</code> command updates the printer's PPD file
102 and driver state information to reflect the current configuration of the
103 printer. There are no arguments for this command.
</p>
107 <pre class='command'
>
113 <h3><a name='Clean'
>Clean
</a></h3>
115 <p class='summary'
>Clean
<i>colorname
</i></p>
117 <p>The
<code>Clean
</code> command performs a standard print head cleaning. The
118 "colorname" parameter specifies which color or head to clean. If a printer does
119 not support cleaning of individual colors or cartridges, then all colors are
120 cleaned. Command filters MUST support the
"all" colorname. Other standard color
121 names include
"black",
"color",
"photo",
"cyan",
"magenta",
"yellow",
122 "light-cyan",
"light-magenta",
"light-black",
"light-gray", and
"dark-gray".
</p>
126 <pre class='command'
>
132 <h3><a name='PrintAlignmentPage'
>PrintAlignmentPage
</a></h3>
134 <p class='summary'
>PrintAlignmentPage pass
</p>
136 <p>The
<code>PrintAlignmentPage
</code> command prints a head alignment page on
137 the printer. The
"pass" parameter provides a pass number from
1 to N. The number
138 of passes is device-dependent.
</p>
142 <pre class='command'
>
148 <h3><a name='PrintSelfTestPage'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</a></h3>
150 <p class='summary'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</p>
152 <p>The
<code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code> command prints a self-test page on the
153 printer. Typically this page shows whether all jets on a print head are
154 functioning and that the print feed mechanisms are working properly.
</p>
158 <pre class='command'
>
164 <h3><a name='ReportLevels'
>ReportLevels
</a></h3>
166 <p class='summary'
>ReportLevels
</p>
168 <p>The
<code>ReportLevels
</code> command queries the supply levels on a printer
169 and reports
"marker-colors",
"marker-levels",
"marker-names", and
170 "marker-types" attributes using
"ATTR:" messages sent to the scheduler. This
171 command should also report the current printer status using
"STATE:" messages
172 like the
<a href='#ReportStatus'
><code>ReportStatus
</code></a> command.
</p>
176 <pre class='command'
>
182 <h3><a name='ReportStatus'
>ReportStatus
</a></h3>
184 <p class='summary'
>ReportStatus
</p>
186 <p>The
<code>ReportStatus
</code> command queries the printer for its current
187 status and reports it using
"STATE:" messages sent to the scheduler.
</p>
191 <pre class='command'
>
197 <h3><a name='SetAlignment'
>SetAlignment
</a></h3>
199 <p class='summary'
>SetAlignment pass value ... valueN
</p>
201 <p>The
<code>SetAlignment
</code> command sets print head alignment values. The
202 "pass" parameter is a number from
1 to N. All parameters are
203 device-dependent.
</p>
207 <pre class='command'
>